Office of Management and Budget Director Cerron Cade placed on leave

Gov. John Carney announced Dec. 14 that Office of Management and Budget Director Cerron Cade has been placed on paid administrative leave due to a personal legal matter.

While Cade is on administrative leave, Carney said, the Department of Human Resources will conduct a review to determine if there is a violation of the state employee standard of conduct policy.

“Cerron has been a dedicated member of my team for years, so this is obviously a disappointment and a surprise. I am hopeful he can work through this challenge and return to his career in public service,” Carney said in a statement.

Cade was appointed director of the Delaware Office of Management & Budget in 2021, managing Delaware’s more than $6 billion operating budget. Before that, he served as secretary for the Delaware Department of Labor, where he began in 2018. Prior to his term with the Department of Labor, Cade was acting director of the Delaware Economic Development Office and helped establish the Delaware Division of Small Business, serving as its first director, according to his state bio.

Throughout his career in public service, Cade’s bio states, he worked as a legislative aide in the Delaware House of Representatives, deputy county director for U.S. Sen. Tom Carper and legislative liaison for former Gov. Jack Markell.

Carney has named OMB Deputy Director Courtney Stewart as acting OMB director.

Tanny Washington, Mayor Mike Purzycki’s chief of staff, has agreed to stay on as chief of staff for the City of Wilmington while this matter is resolved, Carney said. In November, Carney had announced that Cade would be his chief of staff when Carney assumes his new role as mayor of Wilmington.